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Pinewood Derby
The pinewood derby is perhaps the signature event of the cub scouts. Each participating boy, with help from Akela, builds a car from the
Official Pinewood Derby Car Kit. The boys then have the opportunity to
race the cars against other boys in the pack at the pack pinewood derby, and boys from other packs in the Sabine District pinewood derby. Pinewood derby cars can look like anything. Use your imagination - trophies are awarded for design as well as for speed.
Examples of Derby Designs
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Pack Derby Design Winner
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Cheering On Cars at the Pack Derby
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The pack pinewood derby is held on a Saturday one or two weeks prior to the district pinewood derby at a local church or school. All boys all race against each other,
regardless of rank or experience level. Test runs down the track are usually allowed if you arrive early, but no one except the race officials are allowed to handle the car after it is checked in. Four or six cars are run
in each race (depending of the number of lanes and the condition of the track). The races are run in a double elimination format, so each boy will see his car race at least twice. Any sibling or parent who builds a car may
race against each other after the cub scout races.
The 2010 Sabine District pinewood derby will be at North Orange Baptist on Saturday, February 27. All the packs in the area will participate, and
due to the number of boys test runs down the track are not allowed. There are separate divisions for each rank (Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelos), and Open (parents & siblings). There are design
award trophies, and speed trophies for 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place in each division. There are also 2 pack participations trophies for most number of boys and highest percentage of boys which Pack 287 has won 5 YEARS
IN A ROW. Pack 287 ROCKS!
There are lots of sites with design tips for building a faster car. Not all of the suggestions are consistent with the rules for our derbies, so make
sure you are familiar with the rules before implementing what you read. A very good source is the
Pinewood Derby Speed Secrets book available at the Hearn scout shop or online at ScoutStuff.
ABC Pinewood Car has a good, basic description of how to build a car.
Pack 146, Chantilly Virginia has an excellent site with experimental results for building speedy cars.
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